Managing Scale for Sustainability from Science to Application 1: Challenges at Continental and Planetary Levels – A Preliminary Perspective

Major constraints on understanding the diversity of human and all other life systems emerge at continental and global scales, where whole-system analyses are needed. It is proposed that at these scales, secure higher-level forums are necessary to employ holistic perspectives in facili tating the development, guidance and implementation of effective policy. Those I consider presently do not exist in any globally coordinated framework. Some may claim that key UN bodies, major NGOs and continentally linked government agencies and commissions, e.g. the EU or a federal government, satisfy this void. If this is so, why are we facing the current complex global predicament? The rigorous management of scale-linked issues at this nexus is crucial. This pre- liminary explora tion of research, oriented towards continental and planetary scales, interrogates the concept that the neglect of scale through ignorance, misunderstanding or under-recognition is a key factor in explaining why human society as we know it is not sustainable. This concept is supported by observations, which leads to new questions. The results of this paper point to the need for enduring and flexible higher-level forums. Here, emerging globally linked knowledge can be considered and effective procedures implemented that integrate this knowledge about planetary boundaries and continental relationships. Guiding agencies can be established that are empowered to ameliorate and remediate the scale-linked maladaptations of the past and seek to accommodate the challenges of the present and future.